I’ve been thinking about a couple things that were news worthy items this week and wanted to share my two cents, not that it will change anything.
First – The kid who used ChatGPT to commit suicide. I heard on a tech podcast that this kid wasn’t the first person who consulted a computer regarding suicide and in fact this was the 3rd case. Technology like anything can be weaponized and destructive or deadly. I get that some people don’t have anyone to talk to. Look at me I am pretty much all alone. I also get that folks might think that others won’t understand what they are dealing with. Suicide is a drastic thing and as I learned in therapy when I was much younger, it’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
We are all dealing with something. It might be work, school, sexuality, the death of a family member or friend, a sick pet or a pet that has passed, a traffic accident or ticket, some other legal issue and the list goes on. No matter what you are dealing with you are not alone there are help lines in every single country that you can call and talk with a human being. You can find resources for your country at https://www.suicidestop.com/call_a_hotline.html
I speak from experience from having wanted to commit suicide a couple times in my adult life and also in my teenage years. The worst times in my life were the death of my spouse and then when I lost Gator my long-time cat that had been with me for 18 years. Once she passed away that ignited former feelings of being all alone and it was kind of like my spouse died all over again. I honestly didn’t think that things would ever get better or see a clear path. All I wanted to do was die because it just didn’t seem to me that life mattered that much or that anyone would truly miss me if I was gone. I didn’t bottle things up; I took someone up on their offer that they would listen to me and I sought them out and opened right up telling my life story to them. It was hours of time we spent. I did a lot of crying. I also went to the pet store and looked at cats but that just made me cry. I managed to go a month without a cat and then I started looking that’s how I wound up with Rudy and Mora. They are my lifesavers, seriously. They are so attached to me and since I am their 3rd owner I told them that this was their home and they are here to stay. I mean that is unless I drop dead or get killed in a car accident or some other hazard.
I’ve had some low points and at times even with these two cats’ life can be overwhelming and I have had some thoughts of calling life quits. Deep down I don’t want to die, I just want my circumstances to change so the pain would stop. I know how I felt back when Gator passed and then nothing mattered. That was the closest that I came to actually going through with it. I had a lot of people scared even my own doctor. With some of the things I told him he should have had me locked up for my own well being but he trusted me when I told him that I wouldn’t do anything. How many people say that and then the next thing you know they are gone?
I’ve said all of that to say this. Reach out for help to solve your problems, talking honestly deep down feels really good especially when you’re talking to the right person that you can trust.
A former friend of mine told me think about what if you try something and you wind up hurting yourself and you live and don’t die but are handicapped or permanently injured. Also think about whom ever would find your body, that’s something that they will never be able to unsee. Regardless if it’s a seasoned professional like a police officer or fire fighter. They are human. It’s much worse if that person is a family member or friend.
I do think that ChatGPT and other AI chat bots should have restrictions placed on them so they don’t discuss mental health issues and/or assist with how to form a plan to end your life. I think that should have been obvious from the day AI started but obviously it was overlooked.
Second - The shooting at the Catholic School in Minnesota. I looked using AI for what country school shootings occur in. I was surprised to find that the US is not the only place but sadly we are the leading country where this happens. It’s to the point where it’s at epidemic levels.
I know that the 2nd amendment gives the rights to bear arms and you have the right to defend yourself if you are being attacked or in imminent danger. It’s odd that each time this happens all we do is send thoughts and prayers. Well, those don’t do a whole lot to solve this problem that is continuing to occur. One child shot is one too many and this is something that never should have occurred.
I do think there should be stronger gun laws, I do think that all firearm owners should be responsible and lock/secure their weapons from children or those that might have mental health issues. I think that perhaps raising the cost of ammo would also be another action that could be taken. Look the world is filled with a bunch of intelligent people and brilliant minds, surely if we had some dialog and discussions on this a plan could be formulated that would solve this issue once and for all.
However, it’s not until the problem affects you or someone you know that people really focus much attention on this issue. These are innocent children who are trying to get an education and they are not out to harm anyone. I think it’s wrong to steal a child’s innocence regardless of how it’s done. Because once they are robbed of that it’s something they will never ever get back and it will stick with them through out their lives.
I grew up Catholic and started off in Catholic grade school. We had to go to mass every day we were at school. We said the pledge of allegiance to start the day. It was all very much a routine but times were way different and we had no school shootings then. We also had no technology then. However, we did have firearms but they were reserved mostly for hunters and those that wanted self-protection. Sure, we had criminals who had them to rob and steal. I also went to public grade school from 5th grade forward and then on to public high school.
Kids can be cruel there is no doubt about it. I can think of a few kids that I grew up with that I wished I had never met. We were all free though in that we went to school each day and there was no worry or concern that someone would come in guns blazing. Being a kid today is radically different from when I grew up and honestly if I was a kid today, I would be scared out of my mind. I can’t imagine having to walk through a metal detector and using a swipe card to gain access to school. I can’t imagine hearing gun shots while I was trying to learn and then having to take cover. What if I was just walking to or from a class and was in the wrong place at the wrong time? My childhood wasn’t perfect but no way would I trade my school experience for what exists today.
I think that this problem is going to continue and it’s going to get much, much, much worse before it ever gets better. It won’t be until someone important like a politician’s kid gets injured or killed before things change in the US. There is never a time where I’d love to be proven wrong than now and from today forward never ever hear about another school shooting for as long as I live.
I can’t imagine being a parent to get the call that their child was injured or killed while at school. I feel sad for the kids as well as the parents.
Please someone find a way to solve this problem and the sooner the better before another life is lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment